According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, it sounds as if young people are more likely to be shoving their drunk parents into a cab than the other way around, as fewer than half (48%) of those aged 16 to 24 report drinking alcohol in the previous week compared with 66% of those aged 45 to 64.

It’s true; young people are drinking less – along with the population of the UK as a whole.

Cutting down on booze needn’t involve cutting out the pub (Picture: Pexels)

So what gives? Is it social media? Is it because we’re all skint? Is it some weird form of rebellion?

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James Nicholls, Director of Research and Policy Development at Alcohol Research UK and author of The Politics of Alcohol, told Metro.co.uk that these things – among others – could actually be playing a part.

Including that whole ‘rebellion’ thing:

‘Drinking trends tend to be cyclical, and often young people just don’t want to do the same things their parents did,’ he explains.

Would you ever drink less beer? (Picture: Pexels)

It could have a fair amount to do with the economic climate too:

‘This has happened before in the late 1980s and in the 1930s,’ he says.

‘The economic prospects for young people are far more precarious than 15 years ago – if you look at it historically, people tend to drink more when they have more disposable income and the economy is buoyant.’

Alcohol’s prominence in the headlines could also have adjusted our behaviour, as James says it could be making young people more ‘self-conscious’ about drinking today, more aware of the potential risks and ‘less attracted to the kind of conspicuous drunkenness that dominates media headlines’.

Do we really need booze to let our hair down? (Picture: Pexels)

And you know what people didn’t have to deal with after a night out 20 years ago? Snapchat.

‘Years ago, embarrassing behaviour the night before was lost in a blur by morning; now it’s liable to be splashed on your timelines,’ James explains.

‘When I was young, most of the places where you socialised involved alcohol in some way or another. Socialising online doesn’t require drinking; in fact, it may act as a disincentive.’

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Whatever the reason is, young people are opting for soft drinks more than ever before. And more than just an exercise in self-control, for some, it’s an active part of their social lives.

A post shared by Club Soda (@joinclubsoda) on Jan 13, 2017 at 9:30pm PST

In pubs dotted around London, young people are practising something called ‘mindful drinking’.

The idea behind it being to change one’s attitude and emotions about alcohol, perhaps by stopping drinking altogether on a night out, or just cutting down.

But either way, learning to drink what you want to drink instead of what you perceive to be socially acceptable.

Having a soft drink isn’t as odd as you’d think (Picture: Pexels)

For example, if you’re at the front of a bar queue, instead of automatically asking for a vodka and coke, you’d take a moment to consider whether that’s really what you physically and emotionally want.

In a good mood and fancy a lager to boost those positive vibes? Go for it.

Had a stressful day and think a beer would somehow fix it? Maybe give it a miss.

Where to do it

It works perfectly well trying it as an individual, but there are also groups that organise ‘mindful pub crawls’ so you can go out with people trying out the same thing.

A post shared by Club Soda (@joinclubsoda) on Dec 26, 2016 at 5:11am PST

She says that part of the movement’s ethos isn’t about telling people what to do, but helping them ‘get to where they want to be’ – and making drinkers feel confident to say ‘no’ when they don’t fancy an alcoholic drink.

‘Often we are pressured into a heavy night in the pub because friends persuade us, or there is little choice of what to drink,’ she explains.

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‘We want everyone to know that drinking alcohol is not compulsory, and you don’t need anyone’s permission to not drink.’